Seattle Storm center Stefanie Dolson has been in the WNBA for more than a decade, and in that time, she’s learned a thing or two about the perfect tunnel fit — not that she always takes her own advice.
Dolson, 34, revealed the players she thinks have the best gameday looks exclusively to Us at WNBA All-Star as part of her partnership with JCPenney.
“There’s a lot of people that really have great ones. I love Skylar [Diggins],” she said of the Chicago Sky point guard, 36. “I think [she’s] different but fun. Paige [Bueckers] is very cool, casual. I’ve really enjoyed watching her fits lately. And my teammate Flau’jae [Johnson], I love her style.”
Bueckers, 24, has embraced the tunnel as a place to show off her style since coming into the league last year. The Dallas Wings player often spotlights her hobbies, like her lego-inspired outfit in July, and her past, with nods to her Minnesota and UConn roots.
As for Johnson, 22, the rookie has quickly shot up the list of most fashionable WNBA players, arriving to games with her own carefully coordinated — and often colorful — looks.
Dolson herself made headlines for wearing a shirt that said “Trans rights are human rights” before a recent game, seemingly a response to anti-trans comments made by the Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham.
But whether Dolson is making a statement or not, sports and style have gone together since she was a kid, thinking back to shopping with her mom as a high school basketball phenom.
It’s a chance for self-expression, and while she didn’t want to name players whose tunnel games she thinks lack a certain sartorial flair, she did reveal her biggest tunnel fit no-no.
“I would say anyone who just wears sweats all the time, but I wear sweats a lot, so I can’t even — honestly, you could throw me in that one,” she said.
Now as a seasoned veteran, Dolson is able to help the next generation of players avoid the dreaded sweats. Her partnership with JCPenney gave her the opportunity during WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago to go shopping with a young basketball player from the Boys and Girls Club, then surprise them with courtside tickets to the All-Star Game.
“We have a platform, so to use it in ways that are important to us, giving back to the Boys and Girls Club, they look up to us,” Dolson said. “They want to see us in a light that is positive and fun. And I think for us to connect JCPenney with basketball and give back to that community and the Boys and Girls Club, I’m super excited for it.”
She added that the WNBA’s meteoric growth over the past few years has allowed more opportunities for meaningful brand partnerships that connect players with those who look up to them the most.
“To be able to partner with someone like JCPenney, it just connects basketball and fashion, and it gets our fans to connect with us a little bit more as well,” she said. “It’s just fun for us to be able to connect and partner with people and organizations that mean something to us.”
